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The holidays may be over, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to forget the spirit of giving. Books make fantastic presents, not only because they're a way to share a personal part of yourself with another person, but also because they bestow upon their readers an adventure and characters who will, hopefully, stick with them for a lifetime. So whether you’re preparing for a birthday, anniversary, or just a surprise present for the reader in your life, give the gift of a whole world in 5.5 x 8.5 casing. In no particular order, here are 10 novels that may become new favorites this year:

Holiday season is a time of giving --- also of consumerism and incessantly peppy songs that play on repeat. Even if you’re generally an agreeable person, it’s a time of year that can bring out your inner Grinch.

Mockingjay - Part 1, the newest addition to the Hunger Games franchise, has recently hit theaters, and between that and the success of HBO’s “The Leftovers,” the dystopian genre is back in the spotlight. I’m not a scientist or anything, but I predict that many gifts of grim futures will be given this holiday season.

Last Saturday book group members, leaders and avid readers joined editors of the Hachette Book Group and their authors in New York at the Lighthouse International for Hachette’s Annual Book Group Brunch.

Once upon a time (read: last year), I wrote a post on fairy tales for adults. You can read it here.
I’ve decided to make it annual, because modern authors are constantly borrowing from fairy and folk tales, invigorating them with fresh life.

Scotland has been getting a lot of attention lately. Emotions may still be running high in the wake of their verdict to remain part of the UK, but it's a good time to be a Scotophile (the jury seems to be out on whether that's a real word but we'll pretend it is). It’s certainly a good time to be a bagpiper; bagpipe music has abounded in the background of the coverage. It’s a good time to be someone who doesn’t get annoyed when people ask what you’re wearing under your clothes (a frequently asked question of kilt-wearers).

If there is one series that has crossed multiple generations and genres, it is the Outlander novels. The books, the first of which was published in 1991, have slowly but surely acquired a large base of fans, many of whom who have been reading the series for over 20 years.

One of my favorite parts of my job is conducting interviews for REAL TALK: Publishing. I get to meet people with the most interesting jobs, and, like our readers, get a sneak peek into a side of the book industry that I likely know little about.
Preparing for our upcoming REAL TALK interview with audiobook producer/director May Wuthrich was no exception, and actually, it was extra special, because it came with a field trip! May invited me to watch an hour of her recording session with Mozhan Marnò (“House of Cards” fans will recognize her as reporter Ayla Sayyad), who was narrating READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN author Azar Nafisi’s newest book, THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION: America in Three Books. Here are a few of the most interesting things I discovered:

We Are...

A site for 20Something readers. To us, 20Something is “A decade. A state of mind. An age. A lifestyle. A time for self-discovery. A new perspective. An attitude. A philosophy. Independence. Freedom. A time to rediscover reading for pleasure --- and finally, read what you want.”

Books On Screen

September's Books on Screen roundup includes the feature films Unbroken: Path to Redemption, Bel Canto and Little Women; the series premieres of "The Miniaturist" on Amazon Prime Video and "You" on Lifetime, along with the season two finale of USA's "The Sinner"; and the DVD releases of Adrift and The Seagull.